Hundreds of thousands are reported to have marched on Washington DC on Friday to campaign for an end to abortion at the annual March for Life.
Among the event’s prominent speakers was the Vice President Mike Pence, who said that “life is winning again in America”.
He promised that the US Government would do everything in its power to promote the sanctity of life.
‘Culture of life’
The world’s largest pro-life event attracted huge crowds, though an overall tally was not recorded.
Pence and Kellyanne Conway, a high-ranking advisor to the President, reaffirmed the US Government’s position on pro-life issues.
“Be assured”, Pence said, “we will not grow wearied, we will not rest until we restore a culture of life in America”.
Taking a stand
March for Life President Jeanne Mancini said that the huge number of people attending the march was not the most important statistic.
“The only number that I care about, and the number that all of us here care about, is 58 million”, she said.
“Since 1973, 58 million Americans have been lost to abortion. We stand here for them today.”
She continued: “We stand for the little innocent children who have lost their lives and we stand for their mothers who regret being involved in abortion”.
Adoption
Mancini also took the opportunity to champion the choice of “noble and heroic” adoption for those mothers who do not feel they can raise their child.
“Many women have chosen to be birth mothers. They’ve chosen adoption for their children.”
But she highlighted that there are only 22,000 infant adoptions in the US annually, compared to over 1 million abortions per year.
Pro-lifers, she said, needed to continue “choosing life, choosing adoption”.
Courage
Chelsea Patterson, who works on adoption and foster care policy in Congress, had her birthday on the day of the 44th annual march.
She wrote a highly moving and personal account of her support for adoption over abortion on The Gospel Coalition website.
In a piece entitled ‘Today Is My Birthday Because My Mom Chose Life’ she wrote that: “The terrified young woman who gave me life is my hero.
“She made a courageous choice to be my mother, even if it meant she could only remain in the role for a few days. The only tie she will ever have to me is her blood and her genes.”
‘Eternally grateful’
She continued: “Another woman, equally heroic, stepped into my life. She willingly became my mother, and made me her permanent daughter.”
She added that many women need loving conversations in order to convince them to make “the same life-saving decision I’m eternally grateful my mother made for me”.